TREAC- Science and the arts are inseparable with each other. But it’s the importance of arts that really allows science to excel to a whole new level of understanding. Great scientists over time have used metaphors to better understand their works, and use it to symbolize their findings. Lehrer writes, “Eminent figures like Einstein, Feynman, and Bohr—were known for their distinctly romantic method of thinking. These eminent scientists depended on their ability to use metaphor to see what no one else had ever seen, so that the railroad became a metaphor for relativity, and a drop of liquid helped symbolize the atomic nucleus” (5). Arts aren’t always just paintings or music, but rather the ability to use your brain to be innovate and unique in thinking. This is why metaphors are essential for these scientists. For Einstein to create the Theory of Relativity, he needed more than just numbers on the paper. Being able to understand how it all goes together is from the use of art. Metaphors aren’t just a part of life that humans use, it’s essential for human discovery and intelligence.
Barclay- To be able to understand the scientific process to a new level than just what data shows you, art is needed to take your brain to the next level. Yo-Yo Ma was a great musician and pianist who traveled all around the world performing and learning from his experience. He says, “For me the most proficient way to teach the values of collaboration, flexibility, imagination, and innovation- all skill sets needed in today’s world- is through the performing arts” (259). Ma claims that performing has taught him a new way of teaching the way we process as humans. It’s essential for humans to be able to think for themselves and become creative. The best way to do this is through performing arts. With theses new ways of thinking, there is so much potential that comes with it because of arts. “By heeding the wisdom of the arts, science can gain the kinds of new insights and perspectives that are the seeds of scientific progress” (Lehrer 2). One thing that comes with arts is thinking scientifically. All the science that scientists like Einstein and Jobs came up with didn’t just come from a calculator, but rather being innovative and thinking for themselves. It’s remarkable what art beyond just performing or making a painting. There’s alot of talent that goes into thinking, and that is way not everyone can be a great scientist.
Your paragraphs made me consider making a Venn diagram between Ma’s empathetic thinking and art. I might ask you if you think art is the only way to access this kind of thinking.